At least one country isn’t suffering from Olympic fever. A group of Indonesian athletes, including members of Indonesia’s gold-winning badminton team, arrived back at Jakarta airport to be greeted by a mighty tide of 30 people. And that number included relatives and sports officials. There’s a good reason–the games aren’t actually playing on TV. Apparently [...]

From a formerly oppressed people to the currently oppressed: A Polish weightlifter who won a silver in Sunday’s 94kg competition expressed his solidarity with Tibetans by shaving his head like a Tibetan monk. Quoth the athlete in question, Szymon Kołecki: Szymon Kołecki. (AFP) I am outraged by what’s going on in Tibet. When I read [...]

Have television viewers in Hong Kong tired of round-the-clock Olympics coverage? Station chiefs at Television Broadcasts (TVB) report that they have received close to 600 complaints from disgruntled viewers since the beginning of the Olympics. Some viewers complained about the rescheduling of the popular series Moonlight Resonance for Olympic programming, while others complained that there [...]

The Olympics aren’t the only affirmation of China’s entrance onto the world stage. Just yesterday, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong were included in the international edition of the popular board game Monopoly. That’s a capitalist board game, remember…

The withdrawal of hurdler Liu Xiang led to weeping fans, a crying coach, and a flurry of commentary on the Internet. Mr. Liu was nothing short of a Chinese sports hero, so widespread disappointment over his withdrawal, apparently the result of an injury, is hardly surprising. Still, impossible to ignore are echoes of the familiar [...]

It’s hard to tell how the world will ultimately remember the Beijing Games, which the Chinese government so wished would redound positively for its international reputation and standing. To this end, China has indeed demonstrated much strength and pride. But its negatives have too been substantial, as its feats of fakery and suppression of media, [...]

Organizers are trying hard to fill empty seats at Olympic competitions, but who knew they were this desperate: On Tuesday night, gatekeepers let me into athletics finals in the Bird’s Nest on a ticket for a completely different event. Bird’s Nest Stadium (Leslie Hook) I didn’t go there expecting to sneak in. I had a [...]

Hong Kongers head to the polls in three weeks to vote in a new Legislative Council. Could the success of the Beijing Olympics increase support for pro-Beijing parties? Not likely, says Democratic Party Legco member Yeung Sum. Speaking after a pre-election debate at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, he said the Olympic effect would be “quite [...]

With only four days of athletic competition left, it’s looking unlikely that the U.S. will overtake China’s 44-26 lead in gold medals, although the U.S. currently leads in medal count 79-77. But what does it mean if China wins more golds than the U.S.? If you listen to the Chinese media, it means a lot. [...]